The moment Carson McKay saw the sexy blonde at the dance hall, he wanted to throw her over his saddle and gallop hell-bent toward the closest church. Given his reputation as a lover and a fighter--not necessarily in that order--it wasn't surprising she gave him the cold shoulder. But he hadn't expected the mean right hook when he tried to steal a kiss.

Carolyn West might look sweet and innocent, but she's no fool. The good-looking cowboy with the heart-stopping smile didn't really want to marry her; he just wanted to take her for a test ride. But when he kisses her a second time, she doesn't fight her burning attraction to him...until she learns he's one of the McKay cowboys she's been warned about.

Carson doesn't care about the long-standing feud between their families; he knows that Carolyn was meant to be his. And the more intimate they become, the more Carolyn sees the real man behind the wild cowboy reputation--a man who wants the same forever kind of love she does...and who will lead her into a love story that spans fifty years.

Dear Rough Riders fans, I know how very sad you are to have the series end. But what an ending! I love this final novel for Lorelei James' hot cowboy saga, and I thought it was absolutely brilliant. I was tickled pink when I found out that the last novel would be about Carolyn and Carson McKay, the parents of those hot cowboys we have loved reading so much about. And their story was hot and sweet, and tender and romantic. I was really blown away.

I think what really hooked into the story was the setting. It was back when Carson and Carolyn were young, in the 50s, and I loved reading about their love at first sight romance. I didn't only think it was romantic because it happened so fast, but because they struggled with their love for a lot of different reasons, but in the end chose that love and each other and worked to make their relationship one that would truly last. Their devotion to one another was really touching, and this was the romance that just swept me away.

Later, watching Caro and Carson raise a family made me giggle. If you're a fan of the series, you know the McKays are hell raisers--well, little McKays are hell raisers too! Just in younger ways. I loved seeing them as little boys, I loved seeing Caro and Carson go head to head throughout the novel, and the amount of time this spans really illustrates that is a family saga, and a series that is very focused on the ups and downs of family. Because families aren't easy. There are fights and anger, hurt and misunderstandings, even when there is a lot of love. Lorelei James has written the Rough Riders as a family saga, and this final book really zeros in on that and reminds us at the heart of this hot and sexy series, is family.

This is easy reading. It made me laugh, cry, and the steam level was just right. I loved seeing the points of view of both Carolyn and Carson as we read the novel, and I loved the final chapter of the book--that scene was just perfect in my opinion. I'm so glad I read this that I want to read it all over again!